Happy Birthday Billy Graham!

November 7, 2012

Will Healy

Today (November 7th) is Billy Graham’s 94th birthday. Born in 1918, he grew up on a dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina and became a follower of Jesus after attending an evangelistic metting in his youth, not knowing then that he would grow up to become an evangelist himself. According to the staff of the Billy Graham Association, more than 3.2 million people have responded to his invitation at evangelistic crusades to accept Jesus as their personal Savior. As of 2008, the time he retired from public ministry, it has been estimated that Mr. Graham’s lifetime audience(including radio and television broadcasts) has topped 2.2 billion. I remember being a young person myself and hearing Billy Graham preach at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. I was 17 years old and went with some friends because the mom of one of them asked us to. I remember that we sat in the very back row, and that it didn’t matter–God still spoke to us through that powerful voice–spoke of a Savior who loved us enough to die for us, that we might experience forgiveness for our sins and the promise of eternal life. Mr. Graham’s life and ministry has been no stranger to controversy. As a public figure, many have sought to curry his support for their cause, and he has sought to navigate that difficult path with care and integrity, always desiring to remain true to his central calling as one bearing the Good News of the Gospel to a broken and needy world. So I’m thankful for Billy Graham today–for his life and legacy and faithfulness. Happy Birthday, Billy!